Assailed by critics, Twitter pointed out that the new policy puts it ahead of competitors which remove postings without disclosure. Defenders also pointed out the company's proven record of defending users' rights and standing up to legal pressure.

All this distracts us, however, from a simple fact: Twitter currently performs no political censorship at all and has never once removed a tweet at the request of a foreign government. The false choice between degrees of political censorship belies Twitter's third option, of continuing its censorship-free tradition instead of playing with political fire abroad. (more…)

Assailed by critics, Twitter pointed out that the new policy puts it ahead of competitors which remove postings without disclosure. Defenders also pointed out the company's proven record of defending users' rights and standing up to legal pressure.

All this distracts us, however, from a simple fact: Twitter currently performs no political censorship at all and has never once removed a tweet at the request of a foreign government. The false choice between degrees of political censorship belies Twitter's third option, of continuing its censorship-free tradition instead of playing with political fire abroad. (more…)